The weir on The Wear and Durham Cathedral from Millburngate Bridge

July 2022 Weather in Durham – Record Breaking Heat

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Into the furnace we went!

The start of July 2022 was relatively cool and mainly cloudy, with short periods of rainfall being typical in the first week, although quantities were small.

The 6th was a windy day for July. Temperatures then began to rise after the first week, with some forecasts indicating a spell of very hot weather around 17th.

The weather was in spectacular form for the Durham Miner’s Gala on 9th July, with perfect blue skies and warm, dry conditions. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Great for guzzling beer in the local pubs! We ended up in the Shakespeare.

By the 11th July, the mean stood at 18.0 degC (Mean Max 22.3, Mean Min 13.6), with only 5.9 mm of rain collected. In North Yorkshire, the Aysgarth Falls ran dry due to the combination of low rainfall and high temperatures.

As we got closer to the forecasted hot spell, it was expected that the extreme predictions would moderate a bit. Models were showing that the 40 degC mark could be breached over the period 17th-19th July in SE England. The moderation wasn’t the case, the predictions firmed up and it was clear that we were in for some seriously hot weather, the likes of which we had never seen!

The temperatures being bandied about for Durham (and other areas too) were insane. Surely there’s been some mistake we thought. People were scoffing at what was predicted.

Sunday 17th July – Here it comes

The warnings started coming in for the coming days, and they were upgrades to those issued earlier!

Met Office amber warning for extreme heat in North East England on 17th July 2022
Met Office amber warning for extreme heat in North East England on 17th July 2022

At first, it seemed that the hottest temperatures were going to be on Sunday (17th)/Monday (18th), but they were pushed back a couple of days. The top temperature in Gilesgate on Sunday 17th was a modestly warm 27.8 degC. It was a nice day, but nothing could prepare us for what was to come.

Monday 18th July – It’s unbearable

The temperature hit 33.7 degC on the Monday, which equalled my own record from July 2019. It was getting seriously hot, but unbelievably it was forecast to get hotter still. Reports started to come in of wildfires destroying property and farmland in the tinder dry conditions across the country. News channels were now covering the seriously hot weather.

There were YouTube videos appearing of fields and sometimes villages on fire. People were trying to ward off flames and several country properties were sadly lost to fire.

Tuesday 19th July – The Hottest Day

The excitement was building by the hour. By about 10am on the morning of July 19th, the old national record from Cambridge Botanic Gardens (38.7 degC) had been easily eclipsed. Other stations started to report hotter and hotter temperatures, especially in the East of the Country.

Would the 40 degC mark be beaten? It was beaten in about 40 places, but the new record is now from RAF Conningsby, Lincolnshire, at 40.3 degC. The east side of the country was by far the hottest, and the high temps pushed a long way north, including high into County Durham. We had previously just watched as other areas saw these very high temperatures, but this year they happened in Durham too. It was a truly historic couple of days.

Around 12 noon

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My site in Gilesgate reached 37.5 degC. At Durham University Observatory on Potters Bank, the new record was 36.9 degC, so very similar. This obliterated the old record (set on 25th July 2019) by 4 degrees. A truly magical day for those people interested in weather, and an omen of what may occur more often under the influence of climate change.

By 3:10pm

19th July 2022 in Durham. 3:10pm

Here is the Met Office summary of the heatwave of July 2022.

Graph showing the top 10 hottest temperatures ever recorded in the UK.
Graph showing the top 10 hottest temperatures ever recorded in the UK.

For the month of July 2022 as a whole, the mean temperature at Durham was 18.2 degC. This ranks in the top three warmest ever Julys. The average daily high was 23.0 degC, and 10 days hit 25.0 degC or higher.

The 5 Highest maximum temperatures at Durham Observatory are now

  1. 36.9  on 19th July 2022
  2. 32.9  on 25th July 2019
  3. 32.5  on 3rd August 1990
  4. 32.0  on 18th July 2022
  5. 31.9  on 2nd August 1990

Rainfall

As is usual after a hot spell, the atmosphere provided a lot of moisture, and 50+ mm fell in the last 10 days to give a total of 65.3mm, which is a normal total for July. The wettest day was the 25th, with 24.4mm counted.

See : Durham University Record of July 2022

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